Winterbottom, third in yesterday’s opening race of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series, recorded a time of 1min 58.0370secs on the final flying lap of the 20-minute session to top the timesheets. The 28-year-old began yesterday’s race in second position, but was found to have jumped the start and was forced to serve a 10-second penalty in the pits. Saturday’s pole is the 13th of his career.
Joining Winterbottom on the front row will be Holden’s Jamie Whincup (TeamVodafone), yesterday’s race winner, while row two comprises Holden’s Rick Kelly and stablemate Garth Tander, who had a spin on his final flying lap. Ford’s James Courtney and Whincup’s teammate Craig Lowndes rounded out the fastest six qualifiers in the 29-car field, which is made up of 19 Holdens and 10 Fords this weekend.
Rick Kelly was the early pace-setter in the session despite being the final man to complete his first timed lap, and he lowered the time to beat further with just four minutes remaining. Whincup, who was languishing in 17th in the final stages of the session after running wide on the entry to Turn 18, unleashed a lap of 1:58.2150 with two minutes remaining to go top, and his effort looked good enough for back-to-back poles at the Yas Marina Circuit until Winterbottom beat it by 0.1780secs on his fifth and final lap.
The second and final race of the Yas V8 400, to be held over 43 laps of the 4.7km Yas Marina Circuit, will take place at 6.05pm this evening.
Abu Dhabi delight for Whincup on Friday at Yas V8 400
Feb 19th, 2010, Abu Dhabi: Jamie Whincup continued his near-perfect weekend at the Yas V8 400 in Abu Dhabi with victory in the first of two 200km V8 Supercar races at the Yas Marina Circuit on Friday night.
Along with his team, Triple Eight Race Engineering, Whincup switched to Holden this season after back-to-back championship wins with Ford. With brand-new cars for himself and teammate Craig Lowndes, the TeamVodafone drivers scored a superb 1-2 result in Friday’s 43-lap race, with Ford’s Mark Winterbottom (Ford Performance Racing) rounding out the podium in third position.
The win was the 34th of Whincup’s career, and the 27-year-old admitted to being stunned by the early success in his return to Holden, who he last drove for back in 2005.
“It’s almost shock, to be honest – we certainly didn’t expect this,” he said.
“We had a couple of test days, and we tried to set the cars up like they were last year, and it didn’t really work. We’ve come a long way in these last couple of days. All in all, it gives you massive confidence for the year. If I wasn’t pumped up before the weekend, I certainly am now.”
Whincup took the victory from pole position after he also topped qualifying earlier in the day, and he has finished in first position in all but one on-track session for the V8 Supercars at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend.
The V8 Supercars will be back on track at 3.10pm on Saturday for qualifying for race two of the Yas V8 400, which will take place over 43 laps at 6.05pm. A packed support race schedule will also be a feature on Saturday, with races scheduled for the Porsche Middle East Championship, Chevrolet Middle East, the UAE GT Championship and the Gulfsport Radical Cup categories. On-track action commences at 9.30am.
Off-track, there’s a host of free activities for adults and children at the Yas Marina Circuit to enjoy on Saturday. There’s live music and DJs playing in the Stage area for adults, while the V8 Supercar Paddock is open for patrons to meet the drivers of Australia’s premier racing series and see the Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores up close in the pits as they’re prepared for on-track battle. For kids, there’s face painting, jugglers, a sand sculpture and plenty more on offer in the Oasis area.
Earlier: Al MUSALAM STORMS TO VICTORY AND EXTENDS LEAD IN SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP
ABU DHABI, UAE: Fahad Al Musalam of Bahrain extended his lead in the SC09 standings of the Bahrain-based Chevrolet Supercars Middle East Championship after winning race one of round four held Friday (February 5, 2010) here at Yas Marina Circuit.
Al Musalam, the defending champion of the popular one-make series, succeeded in capturing the victory despite being in second position for the rip-roaring rolling start. He finished the 10-lap event in 23mins 20.780secs for his second victory after seven races so far this 2009/2010 season.
Abdul Aziz Al Yaeesh of Saudi Arabia took second place in 23mins 27.937secs, while Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, also of Bahrain, completed the podium in 23mins 31.203secs.
In the SC06 category, Faisal Raffii continued his dominant form by winning an impressive sixth race in a row in 24mins 29.100secs. His fellow-Bahraini Ezra Idafar, the youngest driver in the series, took second place in 24mins 31.253secs. Christophe Mariot of France finished third in 24mins 44.078secs.
Al Musalam managed to steal the victory away from Australian Tarek Elgammal, who claimed pole position for the race during a strong qualifying run. Elgammal could not continue his fine form in the race, as he had dropped all the way to sixth place. Mohammed Al Owais finished fourth among the SC09 drivers, while Mohammed Al Falasi was fifth. Both are from the UAE.
Shaikh Hamad bin Isa had an eventful day in Abu Dhabi. After qualifying third, he quickly lost two places to begin the race. But his luck began to turn and he managed to make his way back towards the front, and won a fierce battle with Al Owais to steal third place by the end of the sprint. It was only the second podium of the season for Shaikh Hamad bin Isa, who is the official Middle East Ambassador to the International Automobile Federation’s ‘Make Cars Green’ campaign.
Shaikh Hamad bin Isa commented: “I did not expect to get onto the podium after the troubled start I had to the day, but I was determined to fight back and I’m glad to be able to win third place.
“The race was very difficult from the very beginning, and the fact that I was able to get onto the podium makes me satisfied with my performance.”
Elgammal was the in control from the morning’s events as he was looking to continue his recent good run which included a pair of podium finishes – his first of the season – during the previous round. Elgammal, who is based in Dubai, claimed pole position with a best lap of 2mins 33.781secs during qualifying.
Al Musalam had a lap of 2mins 34.518secs to finish the session in second. Shaikh Hamad was third with a quickest lap of 2mins 35.051secs.
During the free practice, Elgammal was again on top of the timesheets. He had a best time of 2mins 33.629secs.
Elgammal commented yesterday: “I hope to continue earning some good points and climb to a better position in the championship as we continue the season. Hopefully I can also win races from time to time, but the season has been a tough battle with so many great drivers, and I’m looking forward to giving my best challenge the rest of the way.”
The round’s second and final race will take place today, starting at 12.40 p.m. The Chevrolet Supercars round this weekend at Yas Marina Circuit is being held in support of the GP2 Asia Series.
